Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
Share The History of China Podcast
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Or
The History of China Podcast
The History of China Podcast episodes
- Sogdians: The Silk Road’s Hidden Engine of Tang China
Explore how the Sogdian merchants bridged East and West during the Tang dynasty, shaping trade, culture, and diplomacy across Eurasia.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
21 min - Imperial Diplomacy, Pirate Power, and Buddhist Persecution: China’s 18th‑19th Century Turning Points
We trace the 1792 Macartney Embassy that challenged imperial protocol, Zheng Yi Sao’s pirate confederation that reshaped maritime control, and the Northern Wei’s first great Buddhist persecution—all pivotal moments that influenced China’s political, economic, and cultural evolution.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
18 min - The Unopened Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang: Why the Great Emperor’s Tomb Stays Sealed
Explore why Qin Shi Huang’s tomb remains sealed after two millennia—examining archaeological hurdles, cultural reverence, and modern preservation science that keeps this ancient mystery alive.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
20 min - The Mao Gong Ding: China’s First Permanent Charter
Explore the 11th‑century BCE bronze vessel that records a royal decree from the Western Zhou, revealing how kingship was codified and preserved in metal. The episode unpacks what this longest inscription tells us about early Chinese political authority, bureaucratic innovation, and the power of written memory.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
18 min - Fengjian Unveiled: Western Zhou’s Strategy for Governing Distance
In this episode we trace the origins of the Western Zhou’s fengjian enfeoffment system, its kinship‑based tribute network, and how it tackled the logistical challenges of ruling a sprawling realm. We explore why this early experiment mattered for later Chinese governance models.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
19 min - Mawangdui & Beyond: From Time Capsules to Maritime Might in Ancient China
Explore how the 2,100‑year‑old Mawangdui tombs unveil ancient silk, lacquer, and medical texts; how Song dynasty shipbuilding and gunpowder forged a powerful navy; and how Duke Huan of Qi’s reforms reshaped Zhou politics—together painting a picture of China’s enduring ingenuity.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
18 min - Mandate of Heaven: How China’s Cosmic Check‑and‑Balance Shaped Empire
Explore the origin of the Mandate of Heaven in Zhou times, its evolution through dynasties—from Qin and Han to Qing and beyond—and how this idea became a moral benchmark for rulers and rebels alike. The episode traces key figures, political shifts, cultural echoes, and lasting influence on modern Chinese governance.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
17 min - The Anti‑Rightist Campaign: China’s 1957 Purge and Its Legacy
Explore the origins of Mao’s 1957 anti‑rightist purge, how a year of open criticism turned into mass persecution, and the lasting impact on Chinese intellectual culture, political control, and modern governance.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
18 min - Heavenly Khan to Scholar‑Governors: Tang, Song, and the Western Han Capital
Explore how Tang Emperor Taizong’s dual title as Heavenly Khan bridged Chinese imperial power with nomadic steppe politics; how Song founder Zhao Kuangyin shifted from military might to a civil‑official bureaucracy; and how Western Han’s capital Chang’an fused trade, governance, and cultural exchange. Together these moments reveal the strategic choices that shaped China’s political economy and global influence.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
19 min - The Tumu Crisis: When an Emperor’s Ambition Unraveled the Ming Empire
Explore how Yingzong’s ill‑fated northern march, Esen Taishi’s cunning tactics, and the capture at Tumu Fortress shattered Ming prestige, reshaped court politics, and altered frontier strategy. The episode traces the key players, the battlefield missteps, and the lasting lessons on power and empire fragility.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
18 min
About The History of China Podcast
From the publisher's feed
Explore thousands of years of Chinese history, from the earliest dynasties and ancient kingdoms to imperial expansion, revolution, modernization, and the development of contemporary China. The History of China Podcast examines the rulers, philosophers, generals, inventions, wars, political movements, religions, and cultural traditions that shaped one of the world’s oldest continuous civilizations.
Episodes journey through the Shang and Zhou dynasties, the rise of Confucianism and Daoism, the Qin unification, the Han Empire, the Three Kingdoms, the Tang and Song golden ages, Mongol rule, the Ming and Qing dynasties, foreign intervention, the fall of the imperial system, the Republican era, civil war, and the major transformations of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. The show also explores the Silk Road, Chinese technology and science, art and literature, military strategy, trade, regional cultures, everyday life, and China’s relationships with neighboring civilizations and the wider world.
Whether you are fascinated by ancient empires, famous battles, philosophy, political history, or the long-term forces that shaped modern China, the podcast provides detailed stories and historical context across centuries of change. The History of China Podcast is hosted by Josh Linsk.